Vange Place

Updated 25 April 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This announced took place on 22 and 26 March 2018 and was carried out by one inspector. The provider was given up to 48 hours’ notice because it is a small service and we wanted to be certain the registered manager and staff would be available on the day of our inspection. We also wanted to give them sufficient time to make arrangements with people so that we could visit them in their homes to find out their experience of the service.

Before the inspection, we requested that the provider complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This was received from the provider.

We also reviewed information we held about the service including feedback sent to us from other stakeholders, for example the local authority and members of the public. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about events and incidents that occur including unexpected deaths, injuries to people receiving care and safeguarding matters. We reviewed the notifications the provider had sent us.

With their permission, we met with five people and three relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, the service supervisor and two support workers. After our visit we received further feedback from an additional three support workers.

We reviewed the care records of three people to check they were receiving their care as planned. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, staff recruitment and training, and systems for monitoring the quality of the service.

Updated 25 April 2018

Vange Place provides personal care to people with a learning disability living in their own homes so that they can live as independently as possible. Of those, four people lived in a supported living setting so they could live independently and one person lived on their own in the community. The service was providing support to other people living in the community however this inspection and report only relates to the five people receiving the regulated activity of personal care. Their care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate the premises people live in, this inspection only looked at people's personal care and support. Those receiving support but not receiving personal care are outside the regulatory remit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

This inspection took place on 22 and 26 March 2018. The provider was given up to 48 hours’ notice because it is a small service and we wanted to be certain the registered manager and key staff would be available on the day of our inspection. We also wanted to give them sufficient time to seek agreements with people so that we could visit them in their homes to find out their experiences of the service.

At our last inspection in October 2015, we rated the service as ‘Good’ overall. At this inspection, we found the evidence continued to support the same rating and the service continued to meet all the fundamental standards of quality and safety. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Risk assessments were completed to assess the potential risk of harm to people while receiving care and support. Staff drew up plans of support with people to lessen these risks. Risk assessments and associated plans of support were kept under regular review.

There were sufficient staff to ensure that people received their support when they needed it. Staff were well supported and had the skills and training needed to deliver care to a good standard. Staff had been recruited safely. People’s health and social care needs were met. Staff ensured people had food that met their individual preferences and their diverse needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People were treated as unique individuals by staff. The policies and systems in place supported this practice. Support plans were developed with people and centred on their needs and choices.

Staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to support and enable people to have an effective choice about how they lived their lives.

Staff were caring, and people were treated with kindness and respect. People's privacy was respected, and their dignity and independence promoted.

An effective quality assurance survey took place regularly. The service delivered had been regularly reviewed through a range of internal audits.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.